Waiting on Wednesday: Sanctum

I was looking for something different for this week’s “Waiting on Wednesday” pick, and when I remembered that this book should be arriving in my mailbox soon (thanks Amazon Children’s Publishing!), I knew I just had to feature it on the blog. It already has wonderful reviews from early readers, and I’m getting really excited for it. Written by Sarah Fine and due for publication on October 16, 2012, I give you:

“My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple.”

A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance – hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone – she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife.

As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t – the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.

Sanctum sounds gritty, mysterious, and unique, and I really love the cover. I can’t wait to see what Sarah Fine has brought to the table for the Young Adult market!